The Technomancer

The Technomancer, an action RPG from 2016, places distinct demands on the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT pairing. Measured frame-rate data shows this combination achieving 91 fps at 1080p High, 60 fps at 1440p High, and 33 fps at 4K High, with the combo ranking 2741 out of 3696 test combinations. The CPU sits in the 79th percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 59th percentile, yet the game outcomes are dominated by GPU load at higher resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution transitions reveal a classic GPU-limited progression. At 1080p High the average is 91 fps; at 1440p High it falls to 60 fps; at 4K High it drops to 33 fps. The same trend appears in each preset: 1080p Low runs 139 fps, 1440p Low goes to 91 fps, and 4K Low lands at 50 fps. Medium settings show 107 fps at 1080p, 70 fps at 1440p, and 38 fps at 4K. For Ultra, the numbers are 71 fps, 47 fps, and 26 fps respectively.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is mild, but the gap widens sharply as resolution increases. When moving from 1080p High to 4K High, the frame rate goes from 91 fps to 33 fps, indicating the GPU is the primary limiting component. At lower settings, the absolute values are higher, but the drop is still severe: from 139 to 50 fps across the same resolution span. This pattern is consistent with what the data shows-the game becomes heavily rasterization-bound at higher pixel counts, and the RX 5700 XT simply lacks the throughput to maintain high rates at 4K.

1080p and 1440p remain usable; 4K is marginal. The jump from 1440p to 4K at Ultra costs more frames than the jump from 1080p to 1440p, confirming the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fill limits. The measured 26 fps at 4K Ultra is particularly telling - it's below the 30 fps threshold and only reaches 26, which implies any Ultra setting at 4K requires a far stronger GPU. Meanwhile, 1080p Low at 139 fps leaves plenty of headroom for the CPU, which is why the game scales well at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, boost clock 1905 MHz, and game clock 1755 MHz. These specs put it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16,361. The deltaPct between it and its nearest rivals is small: it is 0.1% above the Radeon Pro 5600M, 0.3% below the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, 0.3% below the Radeon PRO W7500, and 0.9% below the GeForce RTX 5090 D V2. That places it in a narrow band of mid-range performance.

In The Technomancer, the GPU's influence is unmistakable. The biggest VRAM or bandwidth concerns are not apparent in the data, since the GPU offers 8 GB, which is ample for this generation of game assets. The measured frame times show the RX 5700 XT handles the game's geometry and shading well up to 1440p, but at 4K the texture fill rate and FP32 throughput (9.754 TFLOPS) become the primary constraint. The game's 2016 release uses modest but consistent pixel loads; thus, the 4K Ultra average of 26 fps and 4K High average of 33 fps betray the GPU's inability to handle the pixel volume at that resolution.

The GPU's average 16,277 in Passmark G3D score places it ahead of the vast majority of cards, but that score is still far from the top-tier cards that could run this game at 4K Ultra. The measured 91 fps at 1080p Ultra proves the GPU is the limiting factor there as well, but the overall frame-rate numbers make it clear that low and medium settings are possible at 1440p, and Ultra is only playable at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides 10 cores and 16 threads, based on Alder Lake architecture with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost up to 4.90 GHz. It has 20 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 23,391, and its single-core score is 3,302, which gives it the 79th percentile ranking among CPUs. In the nearest rivals, the i5-12600KF is 0.3% behind the Core i9-10900K, 0.3% behind the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and 0.3% behind the Ryzen 7 6800U, while it is 0.3% ahead of the Ryzen 5 8500GE.

The CPU's influence in The Technomancer is minimal. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 139 fps, which demonstrates that the i5-12600KF can feed even a mid-tier GPU without bottlenecking. The game is from 2016, so its threading model does not particularly stress many cores; the higher single-thread score (1,386 in Cinebench R20) helps maintain responsive frame pacing. Even at 1080p Ultra, the core count (10 cores) is more than sufficient for the game's physics and AI, as the frame rate drops only to 71 fps, a GPU-limited value.

In the measured results, all settings and resolutions yield higher minimums than the GPU's capability at that pixel count. The CPU's 10 cores and 16-thread suite provide enough headroom; higher settings at 1080p rely on GPU, not CPU. The data shows that the system is never CPU-bound in any configuration, as the FPS scales with resolution and quality, not with CPU thread count. The i5-12600KF's 79th percentile placement underscores that for a 2016 title, its performance is ample to deliver good frame times.

How This Combo Ranks

In the company of all tested hardware combinations, this processor+GPU pair ranks 2741 out of 3696, placing it in the lower-middle section of the ranking table. That rank (2741) comes from the performance measured at The Technomancer, which is a mix of resolution and settings. It is not top-tier, but does sit above the bottom 10% or so. The ranking indicates that in terms of aggregate frame rate across all tested settings and resolutions, the RX 5700 XT is a mid-range card, and the i5-12600KF is a high-quality CPU, but the combination is held back by the GPU's 4K limitations.

When looking at the nearest rivals, the gap in average benchmark scores are minor; the CPU may be within a quarter of a percent of the popular i9-10900K (delta -0.3%), but that does not translate into meaningfully different game FPS. The GPU, being 0.9% slower than an RTX 5090 D V2, still slots in a similar performance band for most games. Yet in The Technomancer, the high resolution performance is clearly dims, and the pair must drop to 1080p to reach playable levels. The 2741st rank out of 3696 is not a stellar score: for a game that scales well with a strong GPU, this combo falls behind. It is, however, a competent 1080p to 1440p kit that would be considered mid-range for the 2016-era.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Each resolution's measured FPS is recorded across four presets, and the results are consistent with the GPU being the limiting component.

At 3840 x 2160, High gives an average of 33 fps, Low gives 50 fps, Medium gives 38 fps with a min of 33 and a max of 44, and Ultra gives 26 fps. None of the 4K presets retain a 60+ fps average. Medium at 4K outputs 38, which is the floor of the medium settings; Ultra's 26 frames is still a playable threshold, but not for action-heavy sequences.

At 2560 x 1440, High delivers 60 fps exactly, Low gives 91 fps, Medium averages 70 fps (min 59, max 80), and Ultra gives 47 fps. This is the sweet spot: Low and high both reach 60-91 fps, and even High hits exactly 60. Ultra just touches 47, which is on the edge of smoothness but still better than the 33 at Ultra 4K.

At 1920 x 1080, all presets produce usable frame rates: High averages at 91 fps, Low is 139 fps, Medium is 107 fps (min 91, max 123), and Ultra goes to 71 fps. The 1080p Ultra is 71, which is well above the minimum for a fluid visual gaming experience. Low at 139 fps is far beyond typical refresh rates, but it shows the CPU (at 3.70-4.9 GHz) is not a bottleneck.

The data is clear: this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p playable when the settings are reduced. At 4K, the frame rates dip below 40 in every preset, making that resolution non-essential for this hardware.

Settings Recommendations

Looking at the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the display resolution the player chooses.

• For 1080p monitors or displays, the Ultra preset gives an average of 71 fps, while High gives 91 fps. Both are over 60 fps. The minimum frame times available are for Medium at 107, but Ultra gives a more visually rich experience with only a 20% hit vs High. If the user prioritizes frame smoothness, High at 91 fps or Medium at 107 are both excellent. However, the option to run Ultra at 71 fps is still very comfortable, so Ultra can be recommended for 1080p, especially with a 144Hz panel where 71 frames are usable.

• For 1440p the data shows High brings exactly 60 fps, which matches a 60Hz display target. Medium at 70 fps gives more margin (min 59 is just below 60), while Ultra drops to 47 fps. If the monitor is 120Hz or above, Medium is the only setting to maintain 70+ fps; if a 60Hz is the limit, then High at 60 is still acceptable. Ultra is best skipped at 1440p, as 47 fps may be frame pacing.

• For 4K, no preset hits 60 fps. The highest is Low at 50 fps, then Medium at 38, High at 33, Ultra at 26. If a 30 fps offering is acceptable, Low at 50 fps is playable, but High at 33 is also playable in some cases. Because of the low frame minimums in the 33 fps range, the risk of dips is high. The best 4K preset is Low, or the medium at 38 according to the data.

Overall, the highest-preset experience that yields a consistent (60+) fps is 1080p Ultra (71 fps) or 1080p High (91 fps). In that range, the Ultra setting delivers the full image quality without falling below 30 frames. At 1440p, the High preset is the optimal match, giving exactly 60 fps; the Medium preset provides a more headroom, but falls below the 60 threshold with a 59 min. For the highest smoothness at 1440p, Medium is the safest recommendation. For 4K, the Low or Medium resets are the only ones that stay above 30 fps, and Medium (38 fps) is the best aiming for playability. The combination’s overall profile suggests preferring 1080p with quality presets for a consistently playable medieval action RPG, while 1440p High is the sweet spot for picture quality without sacrificing playability. Ultra is only recommended at 1080p, and 4K should be avoided unless a low preset is necessary.